Here's the truth: ignoring the Adam West quickie from 1966, the Batman franchise has released six movies. FOUR of them have set the all-time opening weekend box office record. The only two that didn't were the deservedly maligned Batman & Robin in 1997 and the acclaimed reboot Batman Begins in 2005 which made this film's success possible.

Donít quite agree with the Heath Ledger graph. Sure, Ledger wasnít a big opening weekend star (partly because his better movies, such as Brokeback Mountain, only opened on a few screens), but in deathÖ Letís face it, weíre a bit necrophiliac around here. We feed, we feed.

But Giltzís main point I absolutely agree with. Everyoneís searching for an answer as to why Batman did well opening weekend but Batman always does well opening weekend. So itís that, but itís also how good Batman Begins was and how good the buzz was. Itís not just quantity (those 4,000+ theaters), but quality. If you build it right, we will come.